'Don't want to ruin dressing room atmosphere': Axar Patel says he would've rejected DC captaincy if offered midway
Axar Patel spoke about Delhi Capitals' abysmal IPL 2023 season and also revealed that he would have rejected captaincy, if handed midway through the season.
Already knocked out of playoffs contention, Delhi Capitals have been in abysmal form in IPL 2023 and are currently ninth in the standings with 10 points in 13 matches, including five wins and eight defeats. Due to Rishabh Pant's absence after a freak car accident, David Warner was appointed as captain for the ongoing season. But nothing has gone according to their plans for DC, with many fans and experts feeling that Axar Patel should have been given the captaincy midway through the season.
The India all-rounder has been in good form for DC and has been one of their better performers this year. He is currently their second-highest run-scorer with 268 runs in 14 matches, at an average of 29.78 and a strike rate of 137.43. Warner is DC's highest run-scorer in IPL 2023 with 430 runs in 14 games. Meanwhile, Axar is also his side's second-highest wicket taker this season with 12 scalps in nine matches, and has also bagged a four-wicket haul this season.
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Speaking to The Indian Express, the 29-year-old spoke about Delhi's poor campaign and also revealed that he would have rejected captaincy. "Mai chaalu series mey kisi ko kuch nahi bolta (I don’t say much during the mid-season). Agar mere pass captaincy aati bhi toh mai leta nahi (even if they had given me the captaincy, I would not have accepted it.)", he said.
"When your team is going through such a bad season, these kinds of things make it worse. You need to back your players, your captain and if you will change captaincy in middle of the season it doesn’t send a good message.
Axar also explained that he was never approached to take over as captain and even if he was made, it would not change anything for DC in IPL 2023. "Mere captaincy lene se sab kuch change nahi ho jata. Aisa nahi tha ki ek banda kharab kar raha tha. Usme captain kya kar sakta hai (Things could have remained the same even if I was the captain. We failed collectively as a team, and you can’t blame the captain)", he said.
"I never had a chat about captaincy, but if I became a captain, then I would not take responsibility in the middle of a season. I don’t want to ruin the atmosphere of the dressing room", he further added.
Axar was purchased by Delhi for ₹5 crore at the auction ahead of IPL 2019, which makes him the second-most expensive player for the franchise. Then, he was later retained by Delhi for the next three seasons. During his IPL career, Axar has registered 1403 runs in 135 matches, and has taken 112 wickets in 136 fixtures.